A new pedestrian walkway planned for south Foley will help close gaps in the city's sidewalk network, connecting neighborhoods, schools and existing pedestrian routes along Alabama 59.

Foley City Council approved a professional services proposal to design the walkway, which will run along 9th Avenue from South Pine Street to Alabama 59. Construction is expected to begin in early 2027.

The approximately 1,400-foot project will connect existing walkways built through the federal Transportation Alternatives Program, known as TAP, providing a more continuous pedestrian route through the area.

Taylor Davis, Foley city engineer, said the city has completed a TAP-funded sidewalk along 9th Avenue in front of Foley High School and is finishing another section along Alabama 59.

"We completed the TAP grant sidewalk in front of the high school on 9th Avenue two or three years ago, and we're just now completing the TAP grant on 59. So this would connect over there to it," Davis said.

The new walkway will extend from Alabama 59 to the northeast corner of the Foley High School campus, improving pedestrian connections to the school, the Aaronville community and Florence B. Mathis Elementary School.

It will also tie into a broader sidewalk network along Alabama 59. The city is completing the final section of a sidewalk project between Pride Drive and Azalea Avenue. Once finished, the project will provide pedestrian access along approximately 4 miles of the highway through Foley, stretching from Miflin Road, Baldwin County 20 south of the Tanger Outlet Center, to Peachtree Avenue.

The 9th Avenue connection will also link the Alabama 59 sidewalks with the city's Cedar Street pedestrian network. Sidewalk construction along Cedar Street has provided a route from 9th Avenue north to West Peachtree Avenue, covering approximately 3 miles.

City Council recently approved additional sidewalk construction that will extend the Cedar Street system to Village Square Boulevard, further expanding pedestrian access through the city.